As a nonprofit organization dedicated to being a resource for local seniors, Santa Barbara Village is pleased to host an information session on Doctors Assisting Seniors at Home (DASH), a new program serving seniors in South Santa Barbara County.

As a nonprofit organization dedicated to being a resource for local seniors, Santa Barbara Village is pleased to host an information session on Doctors Assisting Seniors at Home (DASH), a new program serving seniors in South Santa Barbara County.

Jeanne West, Enrollment Coordinator for Doctors Assisting Seniors at Home (DASH) will present an overview of this new program. Giving examples of clients served by DASH, she will explain how the program can benefit local seniors and she will outline the enrollment process.

“We are excited to help get the word out about DASH,” explained Santa Barbara Village Executive Director, Naomi Kovacs, “because it’s a great new program that addresses a previously unmet need of local seniors who may become ill and need prompt medical assistance.”

DASH is a supplement to – not a replacement for – a senior’s current doctors. Enrollees continue to see their regular Primary Care Doctor and specialists for all of their routine care. When needed, a DASH Rapid Response Medical Team member can come to a member’s home to assess their condition and carry commonly needed medications such as antibiotics, so that treatment can start without delay. DASH will communicate closely with the senior’s Primary Care Doctor, and has special arrangements to get services like lab testing or home health care started right away. The program is covered in part by Medicare and in part by a monthly fee paid by those who enroll in it.

“It’s an incredible resource,” says Kovacs. “Imagine if you’re a senior who becomes ill and needs to be seen by a doctor promptly, are too week to make it to an office appointment, are too ill to wait for an office appointment, prefers to avoid trips to the Emergency Room, and/or prefers home care to hospital care. DASH is there for its members in exactly these instances.”